Berlin, September 19, 2026. The new University City Ranking by the Moses Mendelssohn Institute (MMI), which examined rents for rooms in shared apartments on the private housing market in 90 university cities, shows that the nationwide average rent has stabilised at €510 per month. At the same time, the price gap between particularly expensive and more affordable university cities is widening.
Munich remains by far the most expensive university city, with the average rent for a room in a shared apartment now reaching €850 per month, followed by Berlin, Hamburg and Cologne. According to the MMI data, the current BAföG housing allowance of €380 per month is insufficient in 76 of the 90 university cities surveyed. Around 84% of all students live in these 76 cities.
Matthias Anbuhl, Chairman of the Executive Board of the German National Association for Student Affairs (Deutsches Studierendenwerk), comments on the figures:
“The burden of rental costs remains enormous for students who have to find accommodation on the private housing market. This was recently demonstrated by data from the Federal Statistical Office and is now confirmed by the new University City Ranking from the Moses Mendelssohn Institute.
The shortage of affordable housing and rents settling at persistently high levels remain a glaring structural problem and carry considerable potential for social conflict. We are facing the risk of a new form of social selection based on housing costs. Whether I can afford a room in a shared apartment in an expensive university city where my preferred university is located must not determine where I am able to study. Otherwise, we are heading towards a scenario in which only children from wealthy families can afford to study in attractive major university cities.
For the current generation of students, it is particularly painful that the BAföG housing allowance will not be increased until summer 2027. It cannot be acceptable for students receiving BAföG support to have virtually no chance of finding an affordable room in a shared apartment in German university cities.
However, I also see a ray of hope: the federal-state ‘Junges Wohnen’ programme, launched in 2023 to create more affordable housing for students and trainees, has the potential to become a game changer – provided that all federal states are convinced of its importance and participate substantially.
With adequate funding from the federal states, Studierendenwerke can use these resources to create additional affordable housing for students or renovate existing accommodation. States such as Bavaria, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and, most recently, Lower Saxony are good examples.
The Federal Ministry for Housing, Urban Development and Building intends to double the federal government’s share of funding for the programme next year, from half a billion euros annually to a full billion euros. This will provide enormous support. However, we are dealing with a medium- and long-term challenge. We need the programme to be continued beyond 2029.
Making up for decades of missed opportunities is not a short sprint. We need at least a decade of construction and renovation. Creating more affordable housing is an immensely important goal because everyone benefits: students, universities, cities – and society as a whole.”
Press release by the Moses Mendelssohn Institute: moses-mendelssohn-institut.de/aktuelles/WiSe2026